


Stone Cold

by ginevraknifehands, spudbud



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, M/M, Role Reversal, Wuko Week, mako is a prince, somehow this works absurdly well, wu is a street kid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:42:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26278852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginevraknifehands/pseuds/ginevraknifehands, https://archiveofourown.org/users/spudbud/pseuds/spudbud
Summary: Years ago, Korra met Wu at the pro-bending arena where he announces the matches. Korra, Wu, and Asami traveled the world, defeated Amon, stopped a civil war, and defeated Zaheer.After Zaheer poisoned Korra and she returned to the southern Water Tribe, Asami returned to leading Future Industries, and Wu returned to the pro-bending arena.And that's all there was to it, until the day that Crown Prince Mako walked into Wu's life.
Relationships: Mako/Prince Wu (Avatar)
Comments: 25
Kudos: 295





	Stone Cold

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this [sweetass comic by @pencilscratchin](https://twitter.com/pencilscratchin/status/1301549942549426181).
> 
> If you are on Twitter, please let them know that this fic has been written about their comic. Neither of us do the twitter thing so we are unable to do this alone, pls help.
> 
> Written for Wuko Week day 3: role reversal

There were three moments in Wu’s life that changed everything. The first was when his parents were killed when he was only a kid. He had to fend for himself after that, and as a scrawny non-bender, it wasn’t always easy. But he was good at getting people to like him, so he was able to play to his strengths. He got in good with the Triple Threat Triads, running numbers for them and sweet talking rivals, until he found his true calling: commentating. His work in the pro-bending arena didn’t pay much, but it was safe and he had a place to sleep, and he was good at it.

The second moment was when he met Korra. She loved pro-bending too, and snuck into the arena after hours. Wu found her, showed her around, and then let her watch the match the next day from in his booth. It wasn’t long before she was a pro-bending star in her own right. And not long after that, Wu left his job to travel with her and Asami Sato around the world, visiting places he’d never even dreamed of: the Water tribes, the air temples, Ba Sing Se. All were beautiful.

The third moment that changed Wu’s life was in Ba Sing Se. They were in the Upper Ring, when two beautiful men caught Wu’s eye. It was always beautiful men with him. It got him into trouble more than once. There was this time when he and Korra dated the same guy, but that’s a story for another time. 

Wu saw Asami talking with the two guys, and Wu leaned over to Korra, asking, “who’s the stone cold cutie Asami’s chatting with?”

Korra arched an eyebrow, peering over the railing. “Ugh, don’t say it like that. Those are the Earth princes. The cute one’s Bolin. The one who looks like he sucked on a lemon for an hour is Mako.”

Wu sighed dreamily, leaning against the rail, “I’m gonna make that boy my husband.”

“Wu,” Korra laughed and slapped him on the arm. “They’re Earth royalty. You don’t wanna mess with that.”

“Ow,” Wu rubbed his arm with a grimace. 

She was right. They’d met the Earth Queen the other day, and boy was she awful.

But the Earth prince never left Wu’s mind. While they never had a chance to meet in Ba Sing Se, Wu thought about him more than he’d like to admit. There was just something about Prince Mako that stuck in Wu’s head. By that point, rich and famous people didn’t intimidate him anymore. He was best friends with Asami Sato and the Avatar, after all. But Wu had never seen someone quite so beautiful.

After the Earth Queen was assassinated and Korra was hurt, Wu went back to Republic City, back to his own turf and his old job, commentating bending matches. They were different, now. There were air benders, after all! None of them wanted to play yet, but their mere existence shook up the rules.

It was fun. It was a distraction. Wu missed Korra horribly, and Asami too. While she was in the city too, it wasn’t the same without Korra. But it was the same. For almost a year after Korra went back to the South Pole, it was the same. Wu started to remember exactly what his old life was like and why he didn’t love it.

Wu is just getting home from a set of pretty good matches (the Wolf Bats are back, but they’re much less obnoxious without Tahno, who changed careers after his bout with Amon), but he’s exhausted. All he wants is a giant bowl of noodles and a bath.

He’s heading down the hallway toward his apartment when he stops cold in his tracks.

Because there, sitting on the floor right next to Wu’s apartment door with his legs folded up and a book open on his knees, is Crown Prince Mako.

Who stands as soon as he sees Wu, unfolding his long limbs with a jerky sort of movement that suggests he’s been there for a while.

Wu can’t seem to move. He’s rooted to the spot, keys in hand, eyes wide. His jaw falls slack. “You, you’re, you,” is all he can say. He blinks a few times, and Prince Mako is still there. And he’s staring at Wu with an amused expression.

“You… know who I am,” he says after a minute of just letting Wu stare uselessly at him. “Good. That makes this easier.”

“Uh huh,” Wu nods his head quickly. “Yeah. Yep. I know. Who you are. Why are you. Here?” His voice gets too high at the last word.

Prince Mako inclines his head slightly, a much more graceful motion than when he stood up. “I have a… favor. That I need to ask you. Inside, ideally.”

“Inside. My apartment,” Wu nods, his heart in his throat. His feet finally move, letting him walk past the prince (Prince Mako! In his apartment!) and unlock the door. 

He flicks on the lights, a perk of his new status as Friend of the Avatar is that he finally was able to negotiate for a substantial raise that lets him live in a nice apartment instead of in the attic of the gym. Well, it’s nice enough. It’s nice compared to everywhere he’s lived since he was seven years old.

“Uh… welcome?” Wu turns back to the Prince, unsure if he should bow or now. But the Prince came to him, so he stays standing.

The Prince, who has closed the door behind himself and is looking around with not-quite-disguised curiosity, his eyes flicking from Wu’s little couch to his tiny kitchen and then finally to Wu. “This is… small.” He blinks, and then frowns. “You’re the announcer. For the pro-bending matches.”

“That’s me,” Wu says with a laugh. His voice is still too high, so he coughs, turning away from the Prince who is too beautiful. He’s too beautiful and he’s in Wu’s apartment and he needs a favor. Wu knew he was in the city after Ba Sing Se fell, but he didn’t think they’d cross paths.

He bites his lip, and waves the Prince over to the couch. “Sit. I guess? Uh…” he’s usually so good at talking, but his tongue is tied in knots. “You want anything? I was gonna go get dinner, so I don’t actually have much. But I have some sake, and water, and…” he rummages through his cupboards. “Bread?” 

“I’m alright, thank you,” the Prince says quietly as he follows Wu’s motion and sinks onto the edge of his couch. His posture is, naturally, perfect, his spine straight and his shoulders back and his chin lifted.

Also, he’s still staring at Wu. 

“I won’t keep you,” Prince Mako continues, and even though his voice isn’t that loud there’s a certain weight to it. “I want to learn pro-bending. I want to be on a team.”

Wu pauses, staring into his empty cabinet. After a moment, he twists around to look at Crown Prince Mako and says: “You’re not a bender.”

Prince Mako’s eyes are hard and very gold and focused entirely on Wu. Slowly, without breaking eye contact, he lifts one hand, spreads his palm, and suddenly, in the middle of Wu’s apartment, is fire.

The Prince pulls the flames between his fingers, almost idly, letting them burn for a few more seconds before snuffing them out.

“Whoa,” Wu breathes, and then he’s over by the Prince, peering at his hands, then at his face. “You’re a fire bender? But that’s—how did that—can you do it again?” The Prince almost looks uncomfortable, his shoulders stiff, except that there’s a small smile growing on his face as he lifts his other hand and brings another flame to life.

This time he swirls his hand, trailing it into a long stream next to Wu that fizzles with heat and then dies away.

“I’m a firebender,” he says quietly, with something odd ringing in his voice. “But you can’t tell anyone. Can you help?”

“Wow,” Wu shifts a little closer, grinning at the Prince. He’s so gorgeous and he’s close and he’s a firebender and wow is Wu already in over his head, “yeah. I can help. You want to be on a team? There aren’t any openings for firebenders right now, but…”

“But there’s room for another team,” the Prince says intently. “Isn’t there? Since the Dolphin Pirahnas disbanded, there’s been an opening.”

“You want to make a whole new team,” Wu says slowly, leaning in. He really shouldn’t, but he finds himself being magnetically pulled toward the man. “A whole new team… that could work! We just need two more players.”

“There have to be more benders wanting to compete,” the Prince says. It sounds like he’s thought about this a lot, or else is just very excited about it. Wu didn’t even know he was a firebender. No one does: it’s well-known that the Crown Prince of the Earth Kingdom can’t bend at all, and there are rumors all over the place that he’s jealous of his accomplished earthbending brother. 

Wu nods slowly, ticking through the benders he knows in his head. “Yeah, yeah, there’ve gotta be. Okay, so this favor. You want me to help you set up and team and get into a match, right?”

The Prince nods, his face suddenly serious. “For obvious reasons, I can’t compete as myself. No one can know.”

“Right, right, you’ll need an alter-ego!” Wu grins, “yeah! Oh, do you have a name picked out? I’m thinking… Li Chen, fire nation ex-pat, ready to take the big city by storm!”

The Prince’s eyes go wide. 

And then he laughs. 

Not even a little snort, like an honest, real laugh that fills up the air around them and makes the corners of his eyes crinkle. Wu’s breath catches and he can’t stop watching. The Prince’s sharp features soften and his cheeks are pink and if Wu didn’t already have a crush, he would now.

He laughs with the Prince, falling back on the couch, pushing a hand through his hair. “Alright, so Li Chen is a winner.”

“Yeah, that’ll work,” the Prince says with that smile still on his lips. “I can be Li Chen. Can you really do this? Put together a team, all that?”

“If anyone can, it’s Wu,” Wu points a thumb at himself with a grin. “But, uh…” His eyes narrow. He doesn’t have to do this. He shouldn’t do this. But the kid in him who had nothing and never did anything for free is still there, so close to the surface. “What’s in it for me?”

“Oh,” the Prince shakes his head, snorting. “How does 100,000 yuans sound?” He says it lke it’s nothing. 

That’s more money than Wu has ever seen at once time. He’s sure Asami has that much, but Wu never has. He can pay rent, sure, and he can feed himself and can occasionally buy a new shirt, but 100,000 yuans is enough that he could live in luxury for months.

“Uh… yeah. Yeah. 100,000 is good,” Wu nods slowly, staring at the Prince. “I will… see who I can find. For your teammates. Uh, you should come up with a name! Unless you want me to do that too. I’m pretty good at it.” He flashes the Prince another smile.

“I have a name,” the Prince says, quiet and firm. “The Fire Ferrets.”

“Fire Ferrets. I like it!” Wu bobs his head. “Yeah, yeah, that’ll work. Okay, Prince Mako. Your highness? Uh, what do I call you?”

“Just… Mako,” The Prince says with a tiny smile. “I need to get used to not being called by my title somehow. How soon do you think you can get the other two benders?”

“I dunno yet! I’ll have to see who’s interested. But,” Wu’s eyes flick over his face, “I’ll try to get it done by the start of the new slate of matches in two weeks.”

The Prince—Mako—grins, and it does the thing where it lights up his face again. “Perfect. Thank you. Will you be here tomorrow night?”

“Yeah, I should be,” Wu says slowly. Mako, the Prince who Wu’s been obsessed with for over a year at this point, wants to meet in his apartment. “Uh… the matches are over at around 9, so I get home after that.”

“I’ll bring the money by then,” Mako says with a firm nod. “And… a way to contact me that doesn’t involve me waiting for you to get home.”

“Yeah. That would probably be good,” Wu laughs, biting his tongue against telling Mako that he really shouldn’t give Wu the money all at once. That’s just bad business.

But Mako does know where he lives. Which is as good a way as any to get him to do what he said he would. 

“How did you find me, anyway?” Wu asks instead.

Mako flashes him a cocky little grin as he stands. “I’m a prince. Thank you, Wu. It was a pleasure to meet you.” He sweeps Wu a very elegant bow, the kind that looks effortless but was probably practiced for years and years. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah. See you,” Wu should get up and bow back, but he can’t move. Instead, he stays where he is on the couch as Mako lets himself out.

When the door shuts behind him, all Wu can say is: “What just happened?”

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo we both took a staycation this week and it happens to overlap with Wuko week so now I guess we're spending our vacation writing wuko fanfic. This is the bed we must lay in. Enjoy!


End file.
